Happiness, humour and AI

Next week, leading figures from academia, psychoanalysis, the legal system, and politics will gather in Sicily to discuss human happiness in the contemporary world.

The gathering, titled “Atlante del Futuro” (Atlas of the Future), will take place at the Bourbon Museum in Salita Teatro, in Palazzo Adriano, Italy, on August 16 and 17, from 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM on both days.

Three scholars from the University of Akureyri will participate:

• Giorgio Baruchello, Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences

• Rachael Lorna Johnstone, Professor in the Faculty of Law

• Magnús Smári Smárason, Project Manager for Artificial Intelligence

Magnús Smári will present a perspective shaped by two decades of experience as an emergency responder and his focus on the ethically driven use of AI. His talk will explore how the challenge does not lie in competing with machines, but in deepening our own humanity and discovering our true values alongside them.

Giorgio Baruchello will speak about the dual role of humor in both fostering and hindering human happiness. He will also present on the book Burloni animati in libera uscita, co-authored with Roberto Buccola.

Rachael Lorna Johnstone will address the legal status of Greenland under international law and the importance of democratic self-determination in the pursuit of human happiness.

Additionally, the event will mark the intended founding of a new cultural society. The mayor of Palermo, Leoluca Orlando, will attend as guest of honor. The venue itself holds special significance as the main filming location of the acclaimed film Cinema Paradiso by Giuseppe Tornatore.

The event is organized by the cultural association Immaginazione Attiva and is supported by Nordicum-Mediterraneum, an Icelandic online academic journal partly edited by staff from the University of Akureyri.